Compensation Cafe

Cafe Classic: "I Don't Want To Do That"

Editor's Note: Ever been told "No" by senior leadership?  It happens, and often it happens with what we think are our best ideas.  Chuck Csizmar shares some Classic pointers with us.

Ouch.  That phrase coming from senior leadership is still ringing in your head.  You just delivered a fact-based and what you considered compelling argument in support of your compensation program recommendations, and the best you received in return was an indifferent "nahhh"?

They don't want to do it.  They didn't even give you much of a reason to ponder, to argue against, never mind provide you with a rationale that you might be able to circle back on with an adjusted recommendation.  The door was shut.  They're not interested.

It happens

Frustrating as the experience is, anyone who has been in the compensation profession for any length of time can tell you that yes, rejection happens.  Sometimes it happens a lot.  It's not unusual for those in senior leadership to harbor pre-conceived notions, biases, and preferences (pro and con) that are coupled with a stubborn or even arrogant demeanor.   It may seem that they don't even listen.  They know better than you and they run the business.  Deal with it.

Talk about trying to push a boulder up a hill!

You do have options though.  To avoid smacking your head against the wall you could serve up proposals that reflect only what you already know they want to hear.  You could be their "yes man" and play to their preferences or help feed their biases by agreeing with them.  That may not be doing your job as a compensation leader, but it would increase the likelihood of receiving a YES response - or at least better your odds.

But if you go down that road what do they need you for? That's using you to hold up a mirror, and then to administer whatever it might be that they agreed to support.

You could do that.  I've seen it done.  I've seen people make a career out of that strategy.  Keep your head down so that it doesn't get chopped off.  Compensation management becomes compensation administration.

Because changing the mind of senior leaders with their heads in the sand, or those safeguarding their own self interests can be a difficult and stressful process.

Odd man out

Then again, maybe you want to stand for something, to believe in something.  Maybe as a professional compensation practitioner you feel strongly enough about something (program, policy, procedure, decision) that you're willing to raise your hand and say, "wait a minute."  You know something is wrong and you know how to fix it.  Or at least you know that the ship is going in the wrong direction.  You could be the principled fellow with the persistent voice of persuasive argument, the architect of change, the champion of compensation professionalism.

You could also find yourself out of a job.  Because sometimes rocking the boat can get you tossed overboard.

Or, you could decide that you would find greater job satisfaction by working somewhere else.  Having to deal with mental dinosaurs and the stubbornly backward may be more than you want to keep struggling with.

Strike a balance

But have a care first.  Let's not throw the baby out with the bath water.  Perhaps the right direction for you is neither right (what they think they want) nor left (what your profession suggests is the better strategy), but closer to the center by presenting a balanced viewpoint.  So bend a little, become knowledgeable of those management biases and present reasoned arguments that both incorporate those preferences and still move the organization in the direction you feel is better

Rome wasn't built in a day, but they got it done, one building at a time.  If you push in the right direction you may only get half a loaf from a recalcitrant management, but it's progress.   And the next time you might get more.  Just keep (gently) pushing.

Frustrating?  Yes.  Will you lose some battles?  For sure.

But what an achievement you could gain.

Because to give up is to become an administrator.  Would that work for you?

Chuck Csizmar CCP is the founder and Principal of CMC Compensation Group, providing global compensation consulting services to a wide variety of industries and non-profit organizations.  He is also associated with several HR Consulting firms as a contributing consultant.  Chuck is a broad-based subject matter expert with a specialty in international and expatriate compensation.  He lives in Central Florida (near The Mouse) and enjoys growing fruit and managing (?) a clowder of cats.

Creative Commons image, "Screaming Kitten," by GalgenTX

COVID, Mission Critical Skills, the Haves and the Have Nots

It can be, in my experience, a tough-to-swallow fact that not all skill sets are equal in the eyes of the labor market.

It may not be a happy reality, it may not seem "fair" to some, but it's a reality we have to acknowledge and navigate through in defining and executing on our reward strategies.  Organizational success in our fast moving, knowledge based, technology driven and disruptive world will require and become more dependent on certain types of human talent and competencies.  Those who invest in attaining and developing those capabilities will command a premium price for their skills.

Related to this is a concept that is pushing to the forefront of base salary management.  It is the idea that base salary decisions can no longer hang simply on the traditional merit matrix variables of individual performance and position in range, but must increasingly reflect the need to invest in talent that is critical to the success of the organization's mission.

My discussions on the concept of mission critical skill in presentations and client meetings usually generate a lot of questions.  Some of these focus on the approach and process for figuring out which skills are critical for a particular organization; others reflect concern about the impact of this delineation on the workforce.  What about the "have nots" who still do important work for the organization?  Won't they be demotivated to learn they've been excluded from a category defined as "mission critical"?

I think this is an important talent management question going forward, particularly in the wake of our collective COVID experience.  The market is going to keep doing what the market does: acting as our arena of exchange where supply and demand work to drive up the price of skills and competencies that are the most critical to the most organizations.  We must figure out how best to respond to this from the standpoint of our organizations' talent needs, but we must do so in a truthful, forward-thinking and compassionate manner.

I believe we owe our employees an education in how the talent marketplace works, and the impact it has on compensation practices and opportunities.  Employees need this information and understanding to make the best possible decisions about their own careers and livelihoods. 

But more than that - wouldn't it be in everyone's best interest if we took it a step further?

What if we not only identified and tracked the skills and competencies critical to our organizations - today and into the future, but also communicated this regularly to our employees?  What if we regularly shared specific information on the kinds of education and certification steps it would take for employees to retool in these areas?  What if we tailored our tuition reimbursement and even flexible work options to support an employee's pursuit of these credentials?  Offered internal apprenticeship or mentoring connections to help them along that path? And made this a part of every performance management discussion?

This so that every employee who complains about the unfairness of not having and being paid for mission critical skills could be pointed to a coordinated set of resources to help them make the necessary investment in themselves to get there.

Wouldn't that, in fact, be a very smart investment for the employer as well?

I'm certain that there are forward-thinking organizations out there already on the cutting edge of this practice.  We'd all love to hear from and about them!

Ann Bares is the Founder and Editor of Compensation Café,  Author of Compensation Force and Managing Partner of Altura Consulting Group LLC, where she provides compensation consulting and survey administration services to a wide range of client organizations.  She earned her M.B.A. at Northwestern University’s Kellogg School and enjoys reading in her spare time. Follow her on Twitter at @annbares.

Can You Depend on Solid ROI for Expensive Elite University Hires?

If you were hiring for an entry-level position, how much more would you pay for someone who had graduated from Harvard? How about Cornell? Would you be willing to pay as much for that candidate as the one from Harvard for the same job?

These are useful questions to ask yourself if your recruiters and execs are fond of hiring from the top universities in the country. Though a more important question is, "Do you get your return on investment for these hires?" Or, "Are you overpaying them for their full tenure with your company -- and spending more than necessary?" Employment discussions involve Compensation, front and center, so insights into the impact and cost of these employment decisions would be worthwhile.

Is there predictive data that can guide us? If the most recent research published in Harvard Business Review (HBR) is any indication, the answer continues to be not so much. This report talks about "nominal" differences in groups, but that word just helps them communicate what they've found and sidesteps the fact that the data may not be either robust or predictive. Nonetheless, the data does suggest a few valuable analytic opportunities if you read between the lines.

1. What do you want the candidate to do? Sounds like the perfect no-brainer, but there are opinion leaders who believe that college performance doesn't translate to company performance. One thing the HBR data points out is that there IS a performance difference in the following new hire competencies, with the elite university grads coming out on top: Knowledge in field; technical and business writing; team leadership and coordination. So if the position that you are sourcing prioritizes any or all of these, an investment in an elite university hire should pay off. On the other hand, what if you're hiring for an entry-level position with a tall career ladder over it? You may be in danger of overpaying if you consistently seek out elite university hires and pay them a premium.
2. Who are you hiring? It's likely, given the small number of new graduates from elite schools, that you will hire an "average" student from a top school. Will her/his performance be better than a top student from an "average" school? Face it, you risk missing out on real talent (at a lower salary) if you keep your recruiting pools too restricted. While bleeding-edge technical knowledge may be critical to some organizations, knowledge and skills customized to the company -- and thus, only learned on the job -- are becoming more and more important to companies that differentiate on product knowledge and/or customer service.
3. How good are you at this? Does your company have a reliable career development infrastructure? Do you use career levels to price jobs? If the answers are no, there will be few ways to rebalance total compensation as employees move up in the organization. If you are under pressure to over pay, study your practices to see if they hold up. Did those highly paid recruits of the past reliably provide exceptional performance? How did their performance trend over time? Most importantly, how does the trend line compare with other new hires in comparable positions? These metrics will provide useful insights into your practices, as well as discussion points when the time comes for the next expensive hire.

Margaret O'Hanlon, CCP brings deep expertise to discussions on employee pay, performance management, career development and communications at the Café. Her firm, re:Think Consulting, provides market pay information and designs base salary structures, incentive plans, career paths and their implementation plans. Earlier, she was a Principal at Willis Towers Watson. A former Board member for the Bay Area Compensation Association (BACA), Margaret coauthored the popular eBook, Everything You Do (in Compensation) Is Communications, a toolkit that all practitioners can find at https://gumroad.com/l/everythingiscommunication.

Cafe Classic: A Smooth Sea Never Made a Skilled Sailor

Editor's Note: Don't we all have days where the idea of working in a smooth running operation sounds appealing?  Where and how do we find the right environments to grow and make contributions?  Chuck Csizmar shares his thoughts in today's Classic.

I saw this phrase the other day and it really caught my attention.  Folks on LinkedIn, Facebook and other social media are always posting cute, profound or overused phrases that describe personal motivation, self-discipline or even the meaning of life, and I usually ignore them.   I can't figure out the point of highlighting the obvious. 

But this one gave me pause.

Think about it.  If you want to progress in your career, then you have to show those who are higher up than you that you have what it takes.  That you're capable of rising to the occasion, making the tough decisions and by your knowledge, skill and experience getting the job done.  And how do you show that?  Fix something, improve a process, change behaviors, save money, make the act of change work for you and your organization.  Have an impact.

Conversely, those who only administer reward programs (sometimes known as treading water) don't do much of that change stuff and are often viewed as having reached a "career plateau," or as others might view it - they've reached a dead end.   Administrators are not the cream of the profession, and rarely rise to the top.  

Is it time to look in the mirror?

Where are we going?

Of course, you have to be in the right environment in order to have the opportunity to shine, to enact those wonderful results.  And while we would all like to be employed by smooth running operations, the heroes of our success story are those who created all that smoothness and efficiency.  Not those who came after, who benefit from it today by pushing the "continue" button..

In a practical sense though, how many really smooth running businesses are out there?  It's a fair statement to make that just about every organization has some program, policy or procedure that isn't working right.  They all have some aspect of their reward programs that might not be broken, but could be seriously bent or considered charitably as less than effective.

Not sure of your environment?  Try this.

• Ask questions:  Become the "Curious George" of your organization and learn all there is to know about your current reward programs.  You'll need to understand the "why" as well as the "what" and "how."

• Talk to management:  Gain from their perspective as to expectations, comfort level with the status quo and their willingness to accept change.

• Set up metric milestones:  Set up a series of base line statistics that describe current elements of your reward programs.  From there you can measure progress toward specific goals. And you'll also have a graphic story to show management.  Numbers can trump words.

Change for the sake of change

On the other hand, have a care that you don't try to force an issue.  I've seen compensation practitioners push hard to inject new policies, procedures and even cultural initiatives where they simply would not work.  Something they should have known from the start.  We've likely all experienced some form of the "round hole, square peg" scenario - where certain ideas are doomed to fail due to management bias, a deeply entrenched culture, employee demographics or a host of other reasons unique to that organization. 

But some practitioners will still push an aggressive agenda, more for their own betterment  (resume enhancement, improving their personal experience, career checkmarks, etc.) than for the improvement of their organization.

I've seen it done.

So have a care; using your organization as a personal experiment or Petri dish to try out the latest trends can be a problem for you.  And for your organization.

Chuck Csizmar CCP is the founder and Principal of CMC Compensation Group, providing global compensation consulting services to a wide variety of industries and non-profit organizations.  He is also associated with several HR Consulting firms as a contributing consultant.  Chuck is a broad-based subject matter expert with a specialty in international and expatriate compensation.  He lives in Central Florida (near The Mouse) and enjoys growing fruit and managing (?) a clowder of cats.

Creative Commons image, "Sailing," by Bruce Tuten

Because I Said So

Do you remember hearing this phrase when you were a kid?  I sure do.  That sharp retort would have come from one of my parents, probably after they'd had just about enough of me asking "Why?" to everything they said or asked me to do.

If you recall, that outburst never helped the situation though, did it?  Probably because it was shouted out of frustration, not education.  My parents wanted me to pay attention to them and to do what I was told.

It Still Doesn't Work

Fast forward to the present day.  Have you ever tried to use that phrase at work?  Have you ever found yourself so tired of doubters questioning your every step, your recommendations or simply your way of performing your job - to the point that you just wanted to scream at them, "Just do what I ask," "I know what I'm talking about," or my favorite, "Just trust me about this."

Of course, that sort of explosive emotional outburst is not a career-enhancing practice when dealing with colleagues, never mind those higher up the food chain.  In fact, it might have the opposite effect as you find yourself burning bridges and alienating those you can't afford to upset.

What is usually the root cause of the frustration is that you as the local compensation "expert" are trying to gain acceptance (and implementation) of ideas, processes or simply policy/procedure decisions that those whose support you need are not comfortable with.  They could be ignorant of the compensation rationale, not understand the cost/employee morale implications, feel that your approach is more complicated than they would like, or it's simply an action or intent that goes against their personal biases.  And when the bosses aren't comfortable, they dig in their heels.

Walk Before You Run

To press forward, you will have to educate these folks, not yell at them.  In effect, they need your help.  But it shouldn't be, "Damn the torpedoes. Full speed ahead."  No one reacts well to that.

Take the time to hold their hand while you explain what it is that you want to do and why.  You must show them the problem you mean to solve, and exactly why it's a problem.  Your audience likely doesn't understand the field of Compensation and may even have a bit of distrust with all those numbers.  So, you need to try to get them over to your side.

Not everyone can do this.  Compensation practitioners are typically content experts, and not necessarily comfortable with public speaking or teaching others.  The competency of persuasiveness and influencing is a skill and one that you need to practice constantly, no matter your current level of comfort.  Because knowing you're right about something as important as managing the cost and implications of employee pay will never be enough.  You must be able to convince colleagues and senior management that you know what you're talking about.  That you know how to get things done.  That they can have confidence in you.  Gaining that conviction from leadership is always a challenge, no matter how "expert" you are at the technical side of your chosen profession.

As any teacher will tell you, your "students" will have to walk before they can run.  They will have to be brought along, slowly in some cases, by careful explanations of the principles involved, how they impact the organization, and how a proper application of your recommendations can and will bring success.

This means that you will also have to be patient, as well as respectful of those who know less than you about this subject matter.

Remember also that you must communicate, communicate, communicate.  Use illustrations and common examples, along with a few pictures (charts and graphs) to help educate those who have the power to approve or block your initiatives.  And do this, over time, by face-to-face interactions, not via impersonal (and often boring/confusing) memorandum.

In Training circles, they say, “Tell them, then tell them again, and then repeat.”

In my view, a leadership team who understands the role and impact of the Compensation function can be your friend.  But you must nurture that friendship.  You must work to get them on your side.

Never forget, though; you can't tell them what to do.  That tactic usually works in the opposite direction.

Chuck Csizmar CCP is the founder and Principal of CMC Compensation Group, providing global compensation consulting services to a wide variety of industries and non-profit organizations.  He is also associated with several HR Consulting firms as a contributing consultant.  Chuck is a broad-based subject matter expert with a specialty in international and expatriate compensation.  He lives in Central Florida (near The Mouse) and enjoys growing fruit and managing (?) a clowder of cats.

Creative Commons image "Cat-reading-glasses-with-paper," by floho67

Insiders Vs. Outsiders

Have you heard this complaint?  “The Company would rather pay more to a green outsider than give one of us insiders a decent promotion”?

The complaint is that, when considering two individuals for the same job, someone on the inside oftentimes will receive a lower salary than if the company went outside to hire a stranger.  To compound the insult, it is not unusual for managers to ask insiders to train and orient the new ‘wunderkinde” as to how the company operates.

Aggrieved Employees

Aggrieved employees feel that an insider already knows the company, the people, the products/services as well as the policies/procedures.  That knowledge and experience is an advantage, they say, shortening any learning curve and cultural orientation.  Taking on the role and responsibilities of the new position and not being paid the “going rate” seems unfair – a penalty for being an insider.  It’s as if the company realizes they don’t have to pay as much for an existing employee, that the time spent in the company somehow reduces their market value and limits a willingness to pay a competitive wage.

Some insiders may feel that the technical experience they have gained in their current job could be used in the new position, so in effect they have already prepared for the new role.

However, prevailing practice seems to be that, when a company looks to the outside recruiters will be instructed to search for someone who already meets all the qualifications of the job; an experienced candidate who has already performed the job, whose only learning curve would be a short term acclimation to the new company’s policies and procedures.  Outsiders are free of “baggage”: no biases, preconceived notions or social network, and are thus considered more likely to become agents for change within the company.

You should also note: if someone already has performed the subject role the chances are good that they are already being paid about the competitive or going rate.  If that is the case, then the company would be forced to pay a premium to attract such a qualified person.  They would likely have to pay above the going rate (or above the midpoint in some companies).

Another office complaint is,“I’d be paid more money if I quit and the Company rehired me.”

Unfortunately, there is some truth to this gripe.  Over time the external marketability of good performers is rarely matched by annual performance awards within the company.

Merit increases averaging 3.0% may not keep pace with competitive wage growth, especially for in-demand skills.  Over time a company would find the prevailing wage greater than what they are already paying experienced people.  And if you must hire an experienced person you would likely have to pay more than the going rate, thus potentially creating internal equity issues.

You can do the math; if market pay increases at a faster rate than annual performance rewards, employee pay will fall behind.  At some point this will become a serious problem.

What Can You Do?

First, let’s look at promotions.  How can you best position yourself for the inevitable comparison with an outside candidate? 

You should compare yourself against the description or requirements of the new position and try to be as honest as you can with your internal assessment.  Can you perform this job from Day 1, or how much of a learning curve will you need?  Are there aspects of the new responsibilities that you haven’t experienced before?  The results of this assessment will give you an opening for your talk with HR.  They will push the “we’re giving you an opportunity” angle, and you both know they could always go outside for likely a better qualified candidate.  In fact, an advantage you have is that you are likely a cheaper choice for the Company.  So do not push the pay issue too hard, or you risk throwing the baby out with the bathwater.

When you’re doing your self-assessment, remember this checklist: 1) Are you already familiar with the company policies, procedures and personnel? 2) In your present role have you already demonstrated an ability with the technical side of the new position? 3) Remember that internal promotions look and sound good to other employees, and managers know this; 4) Can you develop an inside track with the manager (the all-important “fit); and finally 5) Reality is that you are likely a cheaper option than hiring from the outside.  Use that fact to your advantage.

The cumulative impact of annual salary increases is a harder issue to resolve, in that all employees are likely being reviewed at the same time.  Special treatment for you might create equity or precedent challenges for managers – both of which HR would have warned them against.  You want them to rock the boat, so you’d best come prepared with an argument for why your salary is not reflective of your worth to the company.

Don’t be afraid of compromise.  Your plan should be to gain visibility for your performance and value, though it may take some time for a positive result to work its way through the bureaucracy.  No matter what you gain from your initial conversation (short of complete victory!) suggest a follow-up salary review in three months.  Managers know they’d have a better chance of getting an adjustment approved after the general employee review, when it’s more likely an exception would be approved.  A manager who agrees to that review (and who will be thankful to avoid a contentious meeting) is already halfway to approving an adjustment down the road.

By being aware of the restrictions your managers are operating under you may be able to help them help you.  Don’t beat yourself against the wall of bureaucracy, but plan for your next step; use your internal knowledge to your eventual advantage.

Chuck Csizmar CCP is the founder and Principal of CMC Compensation Group, providing global compensation consulting services to a wide variety of industries and non-profit organizations.  He is also associated with several HR Consulting firms as a contributing consultant.  Chuck is a broad-based subject matter expert with a specialty in international and expatriate compensation.  He lives in Central Florida (near The Mouse) and enjoys growing fruit and managing (?) a clowder of cats.

Creative Commons image "Value Dice," by Stuart Miles

Compensation Communications: Should I Say How I Feel?

Many of our colleagues would say that compensation has nothing to do with feelings. The whole business has to do with facts and only facts. That's why there are certifications for practitioners in our business. There's a right and a wrong way to do our work, and a big part of it has to do with knowing the difference between good and bad data.

On the other hand, feelings have a lot to do with compensation COMMUNICATIONS. That's why I want to talk about them today. Addressing feelings through compensation communications is tricky business. If we ignore the connection, though, we can create serious misunderstandings among employees. And if we understand the connection, we are more likely to have interested listeners for our communications who will do what we've asked them to do.

Just as with compensation design, there's a right and a wrong way to deal with employee communications. An early planning step involves defining what you want your audience to "KNOW, DO AND FEEL" as a result of the communications. Then once you get your communications drafted, you test them against these goals. The words will need editing and the methods you are using will need adjustment if they don't: 1) transfer the knowledge you have prioritized, 2) prepare managers and employees to act on the knowledge, AND 3) inspire feelings that build engagement.

Let's look at an example. Responsiveness is always a favored trait because it is the foundation of effective teamwork and communication. It is especially important now, when everyone is working remotely and on multiple teams.

Say the Compensation Department thinks it's a good idea to highlight, mid-year, the traits and competencies that have emerged as priorities in our new work environment. Responsiveness is one of a group of competencies that will be communicated as reminders through a campaign that includes email, manager discussions and videos on the intranet. If you put all that work in to developing communication materials that mean well, but don't take into account that employees are feeling burnt out right now, there will be little or no interest in your campaign. Plus, employees might feel annoyed that you are ignoring their current burden.

On the other hand, what if the campaign talks about the downside of unresponsiveness and illustrates (perhaps humorously) what happens when a colleague is unresponsive? You'd be acknowledging everyone's typical experience, and they would be far more likely (engaged) to be open to acting differently (as you also illustrate in your campaign.)

Take another example -- you need to communicate the bad news that mid-year bonuses will not be paid because of business conditions. Everybody's been working full tilt. They may understand why there is no funding for bonuses, but they will still be disappointed. There will also be feelings that some money could have been found somewhere given how hard everyone is working. Communicating in that context, you can't change employees' minds, but you could influence them. Your "FEEL" goal in your "KNOW, DO AND FEEL" planning could be to design the communications to build a belief that the lack of bonus is suitable to the business situation. Explanations of product results or share behavior could be used as part of your explanation. Giving employees a context for your no-bonus decision makes it more likely that you will influence employee feelings.

Some may still disagree that feelings have anything to do with compensation communications. There are some situations where that is certainly true. I once worked with a major software company that limited its compensation communications to "KNOW" and especially "DO" with no assessment of feelings at all. They had a very cohesive culture, engaged employees and a no-frills engineering mindset, so this strategy worked well for them. "FEEL" was being treated effectively in other ways in the company. I don't know how many of us would describe our own company's culture as cheerfully cohesive these days, though.

Margaret O'Hanlon, CCP brings deep expertise to discussions on employee pay, performance management, career development and communications at the Café. Her firm, re:Think Consulting, provides market pay information and designs base salary structures, incentive plans, career paths and their implementation plans. Earlier, she was a Principal at Willis Towers Watson. A former Board member for the Bay Area Compensation Association (BACA), Margaret coauthored the popular eBook, Everything You Do (in Compensation) Is Communications, a toolkit that all practitioners can find at https://gumroad.com/l/everythingiscommunication.

Five Reasons to Read This Article

That got your attention, didn't it?  Quite a teaser title, grabbing your attention and compelling you to at least read the opening paragraph.  And that of course is the reason that blog and article authors use and over-use this tactic.  It's a hook that dangles a quick fix answer in front of your nose.  You can lose weight, increase sales, get a new job, manage your boss and cure cancer - all by condensing previously secret solutions down to a few simple steps.

Who Can Resist the Lure?

In our own field of Compensation this basic check mark tactic is in full bloom, with repeated examples diluting the complexity of every problem and human factor issue while offering simplistic solutions that in all truthfulness should be obvious answers to most.  How often are those suggested quick steps little more than common sense actions, and have you the reader muttering, "Of course"?  And there perhaps lies the rub.  What you gain from these "steps" is often less gems of wisdom than a condensed rehash of what you already know, only now formatted with a compelling lure.

By comparison, most workplace problems have a great deal more moving parts, greater complexities and more risks associated with wrong moves than would be suggested by a short "just follow these steps" inducement.  Where most compensation practitioners work there is no EASY button to push.

Real-solution articles are more complex to write, require more words to explain themselves and may suffer lack of attention from a "don't have the time" audience. Plus, how many situations have a one-size-fits-all answer to begin with?

Then again, perhaps a bit of silver lining can be considered for those using the list of steps as check marks for their own activities, sort of as a reminder to buy the milk, take out the garbage, feed the cat, etc.  Not rocket science, but a convenient to-do list reminder.  Whenever you are undertaking a major project, having a project plan that includes a list of necessary activities could be a useful tactic to keep things on track and on time.

You Can't Take the Chance

We are helpless though, to resist the step-by-step quick-fix hook, perhaps out of fear that we might be missing the solution to the Gordian Knot, the Rosetta Stone or perhaps from finding the lost city of Atlantis.  That promised quick fix answer to our most frustrating challenge, the one that has seemed just out of reach for so long - might be right here in front of us, miraculously, and all dumbed down to make it seem so simple.  All we must do is read this article, blog post or link to another website.  It's like taking a magic diet pill, isn't it?

Oh, and the five reasons I teased you with at the start?  Let's see:

• Bullet points are easier to remember than paragraphs
• You will better remember a short list of key points later, perhaps at a meeting where you will come across as knowledgeable
• Remembering a series of 1-2-3 steps will gain you instant credibility outside your functional circle
• There is less risk of challenge to bullet points than for longer explanatory text
• The author can prepare an article or posting faster this way

And in case you haven't guessed it by the above, yes, the number of steps, reasons, causes, etc. is usually a made-up affair.  Many authors first decide on the number, then back into creating the bullet points.

It's all about getting you to read their stuff.

But that would be a 6th reason.

Chuck Csizmar CCP is the founder and Principal of CMC Compensation Group, providing global compensation consulting services to a wide variety of industries and non-profit organizations.  He is also associated with several HR Consulting firms as a contributing consultant.  Chuck is a broad-based subject matter expert with a specialty in international and expatriate compensation.  He lives in Central Florida (near The Mouse) and enjoys growing fruit and managing (?) a clowder of cats.

Creative Commons image "5," by sideshowbarker

Cafe Classic: How to Keep Competencies from Expiring

Editor's Note:  Work is changing, having been disrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic and the necessity of remote work along with many other factors.  Many of our organizations use competencies to signal how work should be approached and to assess how well we are doing our jobs.  Are your competencies up to the task ... or are they well past their expiration date?  Margaret O'Hanlon lays out the case and some process suggestions for updates in this Classic post.

The competencies you use for employee development or assessment need updating in 2015. Odds are, you could make a big impact on your company if you did.

Most companies do not use competency-based pay. But they do include competencies in their performance expectations, to guide employees to look beyond the numbers to a deeper level of understanding of how they can contribute to achievement of the business strategy.

As any of us who have worked on a team for more than a month knows, it's not just what people know or even whether they hit deadlines and numbers, it also how they behave with other employees, customers and as members of your company. For example, we all know that employees of Apple and Comcast behave very differently towards customers. There are big differences between the two company's cultures, so odds are that employees' competency expectations are very different, too.

Those behavioral differences reflect the company's different business strategies. And that's exactly why you must look into updating your employee competency expections, however you use them. If the competencies you are referring employees to are more than three years' old, odds are they are not aligned with your business strategy.

If your business is coming out of the recession, do you want employees making the same decisions as they did in 2011? Doubtful. It feels like so long ago and it's a pretty good bet that your business is far more robust these days. While cost is still a priority, most companies now want employees to be just as focussed on flexibility and innovation.

In fact, many companies are redesigning the way they work. Outsourcing is no longer a pure cost issue, now it's morealso likely to be a strategy to unburden knowledge workers so they can pay more attention to their own areas of expertise. Company's that outsource or engage local contractors need employees who know how to collaborate with these alternate workforces effectively. Others that are introducing entry-level internships and apprenticeships need employees who will make the most of these talent sources.

These new staffing strategies mean that internal employees can't just drive for results. They need to behave effectively towards the new resources and strategies. Plus, they need their leadership to acknowledge "there is a new way to do things around here," and reward those who make the most of it.

So, here's what I'm suggesting. Check on the date your competencies were introduced. Meet with your colleagues to brainstorm all of the organizational shifts that have occurred since then. Analyze the organization's strategy and how it is leading your company forward. Review your talent projections. Taken together, what do they tell you that about not only needed skills, but also the types of decisions and behaviors employees should prioritize?

Next, look closely at the competencies you are using for performance management and career development. If they are truly designed to help employees understand how to advance your company's work (and, as a result, grown their own capabilities and career), your competencies should tell employees  how their own behaviors need to adapt if they -- and the company -- are going to succeed.

Margaret O'Hanlon, CCP brings deep expertise to discussions on employee pay, performance management, career development and communications at the Café. Her firm, re:Think Consulting, provides market pay information and designs base salary structures, incentive plans, career paths and their implementation plans. Earlier, she was a Principal at Willis Towers Watson. A former Board member for the Bay Area Compensation Association (BACA), Margaret coauthored the popular eBook, Everything You Do (in Compensation) Is Communications, a toolkit that all practitioners can find at https://gumroad.com/l/everythingiscommunication.

3 Clues to 2020 Performance Management

For many of us, 2020 MBOs went up in smoke around about April 1, in the first days of the COVID-19 shutdown. In March we knew what results to target and how we'd measure our success. A few weeks later, most of those targets had been disassembled, blown up or replaced. Timelines became guesses.

While we're confident we'll make progress, we are nonetheless scrambling to reframe our goals. Most of us know what team members and resources are available for projects, but the targets keep shifting as operational efficiency can get hit from all sides. This puts all of us -- Human Resources, managers, employees -- in a performance management environment that could become chaotic by the end of the year if we don't keep an eye on things now.

Here are at least three things to think about, and plan for, given the current situation. I promise you that none of them will add more work to your crazy busy to-do list. Instead they offer a mindset that may bring method and organization to performance management efforts for the rest of the year.

1. Don't rely on objectives. I have put it a little too bluntly but I'd like to send a wake-up call. While revised MBOs may play a role in our work processes for the rest of the year, they will not be the stalwart foundation they have been in the past. Most of us have to adjust MBO details in a good year. This year you may not keep up with the revisions. And, in fact, it may not be worth the trouble.
   
   What is it that interests you about employee performance right now? It's not just results. HOW employees behave in this turbulent environment has become more evident and more important to results than ever before. Can you rely on the employee? Does s/he try to be a problem solver? Is s/he able to adapt to quick shifts and disappointments? These behaviors are typically communicated through competencies. You know, that part of performance management that's typically overlooked.
   
   
2. Lose the 'tude about competencies. For the COVID-19 period, the employee contributions that will make the biggest impact will be observed behaviors like teamwork, reliability, creativity and communications. If you haven't had use for competencies in the past, take a look around right now.
   
   Given the way that we are working, don't you think you'll want to give employees feedback on these types of behaviors in the coming weeks, and at the end of the year? And, it's not just you. This will be true for most managers who must be confused about performance priorities right now. Get yourself behind competencies and then coach managers how to use them. Recognize that the specific competencies to emphasize will vary, depending on the department and the specific challenges they are facing.
   
   
3. Celebrate professional growth. Acknowledge that the crazy environment that we are in is also a perfect setting for employee growth. Employees are taking on unaccustomed responsibilities and solving novel, complex problems. Competencies will help you talk with employees about their development, and equip you to track high performers' readiness for a promotion.

Margaret O'Hanlon, CCP brings deep expertise to discussions on employee pay, performance management, career development and communications at the Café. Her firm, re:Think Consulting, provides market pay information and designs base salary structures, incentive plans, career paths and their implementation plans. Earlier, she was a Principal at Willis Towers Watson. A former Board member for the Bay Area Compensation Association (BACA), Margaret coauthored the popular eBook, Everything You Do (in Compensation) Is Communications, a toolkit that all practitioners can find at https://gumroad.com/l/everythingiscommunication.